Winter sales appear to have finally given retailers something to celebrate.
Bargain hunters have been out in force across the country with popular shopping destinations reporting brisk trade.
Retailers will be hoping the rush to the shops is not short-lived as many attempt to make up for lacklustre sales in the run-up to Christmas.
The number of people visiting shops that were open on Boxing Day was up 8.6% on last year, according to analysts FootFall.
The positive note contrasts with visitor numbers before Christmas which were generally down on 2001.
Even Christmas Eve, when stores would expect a late surge, reported 11.3% fewer visitors.
David Smyth, from FootFall, said: "New prices have been slashed as the sales start. It will be interesting to see whether this massive increase in the number of people on Boxing Day will continue over the first course of the sales."
By lunchtime about 50,000 people had been to the Trafford shopping centre in Manchester, with the management expecting to see more than 110,000 who visited on the same day last year.
Jane Holmes, spokeswoman for the MetroCentre in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, said: "We had a really good day on Monday when 142,000 people came in and it will be interesting to see if we beat that."
Elsewhere, the early-morning wet weather failed to deter bargain hunters who descended on Liverpool city centre, while the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield said shops were "busier than ever".
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